PlasCode - Plasmonic Coding in Smart Mesoscopic Particles for Dynamic Detection in Fluid Flows

• Applicants: Dr.-Ing. Robert Kirchner; Dr.-Ing. Klaus Zimmer
• Subject Area: Microsystems
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 419981939

Multifunctional micro containers and micro particles find an increasingly wide range of applications nowadays. Reliable labeling of such particles for their tracking and recognition is imperative for most applications. The robust integration of the particle labelling in a reliable and efficient particle generation is particularly important. The project "PlasCode" combines the innovative generation of micro particles by folding of two-dimensional basic (thin film) structures into three-dimensional objects (polyhedra) with the labelling (coding) of the particles by optically readable plasmonic structures. The underlying method for folding (origami) of thin films is based on the capillary forces of liquids. Nanoimprint lithography is used to create the plasmonic structures on the thin films. After the micro particles have been optimized in terms of plasmonic coding both in a simulative approach and in their production within the framework of the project, the particles are dynamically detected in the constant fluidic flow of a demonstrator system. The project concept allows a consequent miniaturization of the coded particles down to dimensions in the lower micrometer range.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants